Environment & Sustainability
22 reportsEcosystem services and conservation form a case with different strengths and limits. Reports examine which ecosystems are most affected and which interventions have evidence, comparing competing models without treating agreement as proof of mechanism.
Mesolithic Fish Traps Reveal Early Ecosystem Management in Norway
Archaeologists have identified 7,000-year-old wooden fish traps in Norway's Jotunheimen mountains, providing evidence that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers deliberately introduced brown trout to high-altitude lakes using advanced ecological knowledge
Maya Household Gardens Reveal Ancient Strategies for Food and Water
Archaeologists analyzing soils and settlement patterns in the Northern Maya Lowlands have identified evidence that ancient Maya households organized their domestic plots to support agriculture and manage rainwater, offering new insight into daily life beyond monumental centers
Guinea-Bissau's Islands Expand and Shrink with the Tides
A NASA satellite image captures how twice-daily tides redraw Guinea-Bissau's Bijagós Archipelago, exposing broad mudflats and sandflats before seawater returns through its mangrove channels
Why Real Space Salvage Cannot Work Like Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Hardspace: Shipbreaker turns derelict spacecraft into profitable scrap, but ESA's ClearSpace-1 shows why real debris removal must avoid fragmentation, stabilize tumbling targets, and control reentry
Crusoe and Aalo plan nuclear-powered data center for AI workloads
Crusoe and Aalo Atomics have announced a partnership to build a modular data center powered by a small nuclear reactor, aiming to test nuclear energy's suitability for large-scale AI computing at Idaho National Laboratory in 2027
FAA Proposes Easing Environmental Rules for Commercial Space Launches
A new FAA proposal aims to accelerate commercial rocket launches and spacecraft reentries by waiving certain environmental regulations, raising questions about the balance between mission demand and environmental oversight
LiDAR Reveals Monumental Earthworks of Ancient Amazonian Society
Aerial LiDAR mapping in southwestern Amazonia has identified thousands of previously unknown monumental earthworks, expanding the known scale of pre-Columbian landscape engineering and challenging assumptions about ancient Amazonian population density
Meta and BlackRock to Build $14 Billion AI Data Center in Texas
Meta Platforms and BlackRock have agreed to jointly develop a large-scale data center campus in El Paso, Texas, designed to support Meta's artificial intelligence infrastructure. The project is expected to deliver 1 gigawatt of computing capacity by 2028
NASA Moon Tree Planted in Manhattan Grew from Lunar-Orbiting Seed
A young American sweet gum tree in Madison Square Park was grown from a seed that orbited the Moon aboard NASA's Artemis I mission, highlighting the intersection of space exploration and urban ecology
Submerged Roman Port at Puteoli Reveals Ancient Trade Infrastructure
Archaeologists are mapping the underwater remains of Puteoli, Rome's early commercial port, using advanced survey methods to document warehouses, workshops, and a rare Nabataean temple preserved beneath the Bay of Naples
Heatwave Uncovers Ancient Monuments and Buried Sites Across Wales
Aerial archaeological surveys during an extended Welsh heatwave have revealed prehistoric barrows, Iron Age enclosures, Roman buildings, and First World War trenches as cropmarks and parchmarks, offering new insights into the region's archaeological landscape
ZeroAvia and Safran Target Hydrogen-Electric Propulsion for Large Aircraft
ZeroAvia and Safran have announced a partnership to develop high-temperature hydrogen fuel cell systems for commercial aviation, aiming to address the technical barriers to zero-emission flight for larger passenger aircraft
Climate Research Progress and Challenges Since 2022
A multidisciplinary journal launched in 2022 has published over 270 studies on climate variability, risk, and mitigation. Experts now assess how the field has evolved and what scientific and technical barriers remain
LED Streetlights Are Worsening Light Pollution Despite Efficiency Gains
Cities worldwide have rapidly adopted LED streetlighting for energy savings, but poor deployment and lack of digital controls have increased light pollution, undermining both environmental and public health benefits
NASA Prepares Six New Airborne Missions to Study Earth's Extremes
NASA is launching a new series of suborbital missions using aircraft, drones, and remote sensors to investigate wildfires, air quality, glacier retreat, and landslides, aiming to improve scientific understanding of rapid environmental change
How Physics Tools Are Shaping Food System Modeling and Policy
Sarah Bridle, a physicist with a background in cosmology, is applying quantitative modeling and open-data practices from astrophysics to analyze food systems, land use, and climate impacts, revealing new challenges for sustainable agriculture
Balcony Solar Panels Spread Faster Than US Safety Standards
Plug-in solar panels for homes and apartments are now legal in many US states, but no panels meet new certification standards and key safety risks remain unresolved as regulators and utilities struggle to keep pace
China Tests Low-Cost Catalyst to Turn Plastic Waste Into Jet Fuel
Researchers in China have demonstrated a chemical process that converts polyolefin plastic waste into aviation-grade fuel using a cobalt-nickel catalyst, but the method remains at the laboratory stage and faces significant engineering hurdles
MIT tool models climate risks for renewable energy grid planning
A new MIT framework simulates how future climate conditions could affect renewable energy infrastructure, revealing that siting decisions based on outdated weather data may increase grid failures as demand and extreme weather rise
Open CSP Tower Data Set Aims to Advance Solar Thermal Research
A new open-access database from German researchers provides detailed operational data from a solar power tower facility, aiming to accelerate research on concentrated solar power and improve the technology's efficiency and deployment
NOAA-21 Satellite Captures Canada Wildfire Smoke Spanning Continents
A NOAA-21 satellite image from July 14, 2026, reveals vast smoke plumes from over 850 wildfires in Canada, with thick haze drifting into the northeastern United States and raising air quality concerns across borders.
Astronomers Warn of Night Sky Risks From Sun-Reflecting Satellite
A private company has received regulatory approval to launch a satellite equipped with a large reflective surface, aiming to direct sunlight to Earth after dark. Astronomers and scientific organizations are raising concerns about the impact on astronomical observations and public safety.